A case for being bored. Latest article in the Volksrust Recorder -24 April 2015. Is helicopter parenting dumbing down our children and producing less creative adults?

1. Volksrust Recorder - Column / Rubrieke10 Recorder 24 April 2015
Change
Your
Story
With Jacques de Villiers
Volksrust Seme
BusinessColumn
I’m starting to say ‘in the day’so that’s giving
away my age (51). But in the day when we
were young our parents were more like Sparta
than the helicopter parents of today (of which
I’m one of them).
In the day our parents weren’t as hands on
as we were today. We were sent out like
Spartan children to play for the day and were
left up to our own devices - if we survived,
cool ... if not, “hey we have other kids and
one less mouth to feed”.
Ok, they weren’t that cynical. But, I’m not
sure I’m that far off the mark.
I’m sure 99% of us survived the trials and
tribulations of childhood without our parents
watching over us all the time.
As boys we used to explore the veld looking
for all sorts of mischief. Like upturning old
discarded cement packet to see if we could
find snakes, building of forts, shooting of
catapults, getting into fights because of turf
wars, pulling girls’ pigtails, fishing at the local
stream, riding (and crashing) our bikes and
teasing the neighbourhood dogs (I’ve got 15
stitches on my right hand as a result). This
and more was the staple diet of a boy child in
the day.
If we we were bored our parents used to say
“go play outside”. As long as we were back
for dinner, they were pretty unfazed at what
went on in our lives.
And, we pretty much came up with creative
solutions to keep ourselves busy. Yes, and
sometimes we were naughty and
mischievious, but we at least got our brain
into gear and used it.
In today’s world we don’t allow our children
to get bored it appears. As soon as they say,
“I’m bored ...” we plonk them in front of the
television, take them to the mall, get them a
video game and so on.
We just don’t allow our children to get bored
and as a result I believe that were dumbing
them down and not allowing them to use the
creative muscles in the brain.
I believe that kids need to have times when
they get mind-numbingly bored. If we leave
them long enough, they’ll use their brain and
figure something out without us having to
come up with a solution for them.
If my logic isn’t too faulty, the more they use
their brains as children the better their brains
will be as adults. And, that’s got to be a good
thing, right?
“Daddy, I’m bored.”
“Daddy wants to nap. Go play outside and
figure something out.”
Boredom Builds
Better Brains
For further information: Jacques de
Villiers jacques@jacquesdevilliers.com
082 906 3693
Joh. 8:32 “En julle sal die waarheid ken, en
die waarheid sal julle vrymaak.” Is jou lewe
of die dinge wat jy glo van omstandighede
of mense gebaseer op waarheid of opinies?
Dit is ‘n baie belangrike vraag. Want, as die
dinge wat jy glo om waar te wees gebou is
op die opinies van mense, beteken dit dat
jou lewe of jou waarheid eintlik vals is. Ek en
jy volg maklik die opinies van ander en
hanteer dit as die waarheid. Daar is egter ‘n
baie groot gevaar daarin. Dit weerhou ons
om in goeie verhoudings met mense te
staan. Ons oordeel mense sonder dat ons
hulle regtig ken. Ek en jy mag nie op
spekulasie of hoorsê keuses maak nie. Die
Israeliete het dieselfde fout begaan. Ons lees
Waarheid of Opinie?
The value of reflection to
improve business results
To advertise
in the
Recorder
please
contact us
017 735 1532
Business Tips of reflection
to improve business results
WillemHüsselmann- 0824157725
Freddie Kapp - 017 735 4444
Johan Botha - 082 335 7274
Ashraf Moola - 082 588 5515
Ahmed Chotia - 082 554 4886
“Without reflection, we go blindly on our
way, creating more unintended
consequences, and failing to achieve
anything useful.” (Margaret J. Wheatley –
American writer and management consultant
who studies organisational behaviour)
These are very sobering words and make us
realise that we might be chasing the next deal
without giving sufficient thought to the
ability of our business and infrastructure to
meet and exceed client expectations.
We continuously need to sharpen the
proverbial saw. Here is a value chain
perspective to consider when reflecting
about your business endeavours:
Target market performance
Is there a match between our defined target
market, their needs and our product/service
as a solution to their needs and
requirements?
Suitability of value proposition
Do we know how well our product/service is
addressing the target market needs and
requirements?
Marketing Mix
Do we have the most optimal marketing mix
available to market and promote our product/
service to the selected target market?
Sales and distribution
Is our sales and distribution team fully
equipped to sell our products/services?
Service delivery
How do clients experience our service
delivery and after sales service?
Cashflowmanagement
Do we have an up to date cash flow forecast
to plan for to ensure that we can fund
operations?
Human resources
Do I have a skills development plan per
employee?
InformationTechnology
Are there technological advances which can
support me to operate more effectively and
efficient?
Procurement
Am I getting the best possible deals when
procuring products and services to operate
my business?
Another building block in our endeavours to
plan for the future of our businesses is to
remember the successes and
disappointments in our business over a
specific period of time (say the last 12
months). What are your learning experiences
from these lists and how can you apply what
you have learnt?
To support business owners with the
important task of business planning, Sanlam
gives you free access to the book Your
Annual Business Game Plan for Success,
which provides an easy and straightforward
framework needed to draft a well-crafted game
plan that will create the positive change and
growth necessary for business success. Go
to www.sanlam.co.za/gameplan to download
your free copy.
Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head:
Sanlam Business Market
We would like to remind everyone who would
like to participate in the Entrepreneurship
programme to contact any of the members
for more information. We all know the saying
“If you give someone a fish you give him
food, but if you teach him how to fish, you
give him a life”. This is your opportunity to
learn to become business owners, and not
merely business participants. For more
information, please contact any of the
following members:
in Numeri 13 die verhaal van die twaalf
verspieders wat deur Moses uitgestuur is om
die land Kanaän te verken. Hulle almal het die
waarheid met hulle eie oë gesien tog glo net
Josua en Kaleb dat God die land in hulle hande
gegee het. Al twaalf doen verslag aan Moses
en die volk. Josua en Kaleb, positief beïnvloed
deur die waarheid van God se belofte. Die tien
ander sien dinge egter anders. Hulle was
negatief en ongelowig. Die ergste van alles
was dat die volk eerder na die negatiewe
opinie van die tien as die positiewe waarheid
van die twee geluister het. Hier is ‘n baie
belangrike les om te leer. Moenie altyd die
meerdere of die mees populêre opinie as die
waarheid aanneem nie. Ek en jy moet die
waarheid in elke omstandigheid soek. Die
Volk was so beïnvloed deur die opinie van
die negatiewe verspieders dat hulle die
belofte van God vergeet het. Hulle het selfs
besluit om Josua en Kaleb te vermoor. Num
14:10 “Toe sê die hele vergadering dat hulle
gestenig moet word.” God beloof seën ‘n
land wat oorloop van melk en heuning. Die
groot persentasie van die volk kies egter teen
die Waarheid en hardloop agter die opinie
van mense aan. Opinies weerhou ons van ‘n
nuwe seisoen in ons lewens. Dit weerhou ons
van God se seën. Is jou waarheid miskien ‘n
opinie of is jou opinie ‘n Goddelike waarheid?
Maak seker, want ek en jy kan nie bekostig
om op sand te bou nie. Ondersoek dan jou
eie lewe, ondersoek alle opinies en kom by
die waarheid uit. Want die Waarheid sal jou
vry maak.
Vrede Pastoor Johan Venter.